


Where He Belongs

by orphan_account



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mention of Suicidal Tendencies, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Slow Burn, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:40:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26659846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After the androids have successfully and peacefully rebelled against the humans, Connor has nowhere to call his home. He searches out Hank, the one person he had an attachment to so far in his short life, in attempts to find where he truly feels he belongs.Connor was simply a machine. An advanced model integrated and designed specifically for one thing: to complete his missions. Becoming deviant took that all away from him, and he was left feeling lost. No more tasks, no more orders. With the help of his old partner, Hank, Connor begins to take his first steps through life. Hank is patient with him as Connor figures himself out, but It doesn’t take long before he starts to truly find himself.Slow burn - Friends to lovers/rated mature for the time being.
Relationships: Hank Anderson & Connor, Hank Anderson/Connor
Comments: 19
Kudos: 49





	1. By your side

**Author's Note:**

> It's been so long since I've written anything! I haven't been interested in anything like this in a long time, and it feels really nice to write again!  
> Anyways, this is a bit of a self indulgent, slow burn HankCon fic I've been working on after getting the ending where they hug. I couldn't help myself, I adore the idea of their relationship growing even more after the game!
> 
> Please enjoy!~

"Hello, Lieutenant. I was wondering if I could come in for a while, if you're not busy." Connor immediately blurted as the front door to Hank's home had just barely creaked open. The man inside was in his pajamas, eyes a bit squinted from most likely having been woken up, face screwed into a confused expression.

"Whoa, whoa whoa... Slow down. It's 6am on a Sunday for Christs sake, the hell are you doin' here so early?" Hank's voice was firm but tired as he eyed the android who stood on his front step. He was attempting to process the question in his tired mind, blinking the sleep out of his eyes as the android stood in front of him, shifting slightly as he looked at the snow dusted ground beneath his shoes. Those soft brown eyes then flitted up to meet the Lieutenant's gaze, and Hank could see a hint of sheepishness on that usually stoic face of his. Connor was usually quite composed, but in this moment he seemed as if he was experiencing anxiety. Hank hadn't seen him since their short meeting in front of the Chicken Feed truck about a week ago, but he'd be lying if he said that the android didn't cross his mind quite frequently. Even if he was a bit grumpy from being woken up so abruptly, it was a nice surprise to find Connor on his doorstep.

"I'm sorry, I know it's early." Connors voice was soft, almost nervous in tone. It was merely a week after the revolution had taken place, and here he was, on Hank's doorstep. Connor truly didn't have anywhere to stay other than a shelter that the other androids of Jericho had created for themselves. The city of Detroit wasn't much kinder to them quite yet, but at least they did have a relatively safe place to stay while they continued to fight for their rights. Connor was honored that Markus took him in, allowed him to stay there, especially after what he had done to Jericho. After all, it was his fault that their hideout was destroyed entirely, his fault that so many innocent androids had lost their lives. He could barely even bear the thought. But in the end, staying with them wasn't what Connor wanted, as much as he did support the efforts that Jericho had been fighting for. When it really came down to it, Connor wasn't happy there. He felt alone, as he didn't know any of the other androids there well enough. And truthfully, he missed Hank. He hadn't felt attached to anyone like he felt with that man. And with his new found deviancy, his emotions were much harder to suppress. He wanted to be with Hank again, it was where he felt he belonged.

"It's fine, Connor. Just... get in here. You're going to catch a cold, or... whatever the android equivalent for that is." Hank stepped aside, allowing the RK800 inside out of that crisp winter air. Connor obliged, slowly stepping into the small but humble home, exhaling softly as he heard Hank close the front door behind him. This place felt comforting, warm, and familiar to Connor.

"Thank you, Hank." He smiled nervously, clasping his ice cold hands and rubbing them together in front of his chest. He didn't feel cold in the same way a human would, but it slowed his processors down and made his systems feel sluggish and slow. He didn't really favor the cold, due to this.

"Yeah, it's fine." Hank stepped past Connor, heading into his kitchen to turn on his coffee maker. He figured if he was up, he was up. No use in going back to bed now, not when he had a guest. An unexpected guest, but a guest nonetheless. Hank usually took advantage of the weekends to catch up on sleep, but he couldn't bring himself to be angry at Connor for waking him. He's been through hell and back with this android, and he honestly missed him when he wasn't around. It's been a long time since Hank's felt this way towards someone, and he wasn't the best at showing it outright. Most of his feelings were kept internalized.

Hank took a plain white mug from the cupboard and placed it under the coffee maker, pressing a button and watching as the dark liquid poured into his cup. "So, what did you want?" His tone seemed indifferent, but he was honestly curious as to what brought Connor here so early in the morning.

"I wanted to ask you something." Connor said, taking a few steps forward but halting in the middle of the living room, behind the couch. He wasn't quite sure how to go about asking something so... big. So sudden. It wasn't a small thing to ask if he could just move in with Hank, but he would do anything to stay here. Hank was the only person Connor had grown attached to so far in his short life, and he felt at home when he was around the older man.

"Yeah? Well shoot then." Hank yawned, eyes still trained on his coffee machine as it finished brewing his coffee. He picked up his mug and took a small sip, his eyes averting back over to Connor expectantly, waiting for him to ask his question. But he didn't. Hank noticed that the android looked troubled, a solid yellow glow radiating from that little LED on his side of his head. 

"Connor?"

"I... I was wondering if..." He started, those deep brown eyes moving away from Hanks gaze to look over at the massive, sleeping Saint Bernard who lay curled in a big ball in the corner of the living room. His mind was racing with thoughts of rejection, embarrassment, sadness. He didn't know if he could bear the thought of Hank telling him no. Connor didn't want to go back to Jericho, he wanted to be here, with Hank.

"Connor, spit it out. What's on your mind?" Hank set his mug down on the kitchen counter behind him, then crossing his arms over his broad chest and leaning back against it. His thick brows were furrowed as he looked at Connor with concern. It was nice to see Connor experiencing much more expressive emotions like this, but Hank couldn't help but to feel a bit of worry welling up in his chest over Connor acting so nervous.

"Can I stay here?" The android finally blurted, breaking that tense silence as chocolatey brown eyes flitted back over to meet with Hank's deep blue ones. He couldn't seem to read the look on the lieutenants face, which immediately sent that familiar feeling of anxiety coursing through his body. He felt his thirium pump beating a bit faster now in his chest, but he remained still and composed where he stood. 

"Stay here?" Hank echoed him softly, raising a brow. "You want to live here?"

Connor simply nodded once, his stress levels rising slightly. He was worried that Hank would think it was far too strange. Maybe even far too forward. After all, they've only known each other for a couple of weeks. But those couple of weeks were all Connor had experienced in his life so far, and Hank was always a constant in it. Every single day, Connor had been assigned work with the grumpy lieutenant, and he grew very much attached to him by now. Other than Amanda, who had betrayed him deeply, Connor had no one other than this man. He felt like there was no place he truly belonged but here, at least currently. 

"Huh..." Hank nodded, brows raised a bit. "Well... You've been staying with Markus and them, right?" 

"Yes."

"Ah. You don't like it there?" 

"Well, it's not that I don't like it per say. I guess I just feel..." Connor exhaled softly. Although he had no need for breathing, his simulated breaths kept him calm and grounded in moments of stress. "I feel like I want to be here, with you." He finished in a firm, serious tone.

Hank was quiet, but he nodded his head slowly a few times, as if he was processing this sudden information. The man's silence made Connor feel as if he were about to self destruct, but he remained calm, those pretty brown eyes still trained on Hank. The Lieutenant thought deeply about this, wondering if he could share this tiny home with another person. He genuinely did care about Connor and his well being, and definitely owed the android for saving his life on multiple occasions, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to give up his perfect solitude. There wasn't many places to go for privacy in such a small house like this, and Hank hadn't shared a space with anyone for quite a while. It would definitely be a very sudden change of lifestyle for him.

"Well..." The older man let out a long sigh, his blue eyes averting to look down at the messy kitchen table in front of him. He was mulling everything over in his head, but in all honesty he didn't want to tell the android 'no'. He's grown to care for him quite a bit, after all Connor had done for him these past few weeks. That android could be a wonderful thing for him. Someone to keep him moving through life, someone to make sure he takes care of himself. He thought about how Connor would most likely keep him on track, recalling the numerous times he had gotten on him for eating too many burgers or donuts or whatever the hell he felt like indulging in on that particular day. He sighed again, meeting Connors gaze once more. The poor android's thick brown eyebrows were furrowed, a look of nervousness written on that pretty face. Hank better answer him.

"Yeah." Hank made the quick decision just then, mostly because he wanted to ease Connors obvious worry. There was something about the way Connor was looking at him, waiting for that answer that was just tugging at his heart strings. Connor did things to Hank; he made him feel more than he realized he was even capable of feeling after losing his son. Hank watched as Connors eyes widened ever so slightly, His LED remaining a yellow color before circling back to that natural blue hue.

"I can stay here?" Connor asked almost incredulously, as if to make sure that's what Hank had agreed to.

"...Yeah. Why not." Hank shrugged, before taking a long sip of coffee as to try and avoid the feeling of setting regret. While he didn't want to send Connor back to a place he didn't want to go, he wasn't sure if he wanted a room mate right now. In a way though, Hank felt somewhat humbled that Connor would rather stay here with him than with his own kind. The android seemed to favor him, which was... flattering. Most people in Hanks life didn't want a whole lot to do with him. It felt nice to be wanted like this.

"Thank you, Hank." Connor was smiling slightly now, Hank wasn't looking at him, but he could hear that warm smile in his voice as he thanked him. It made his heart feel light in his chest. Connor was happy.

"Yeah, yeah. It's nothing. I could use the help around here anyways." Hank said through yet another big yawn, and Connor could tell he was right. There were empty takeout boxes littering the coffee table, along with beer bottles and other clutter around the house that Connor was already itching to tidy up and organize. It was simply in his programming to keep his surroundings tidy, even if he wasn't originally intended to be a housekeeper android. Maybe it was just in his nature, as he didn't really need to take orders from anyone anymore after deviating.

  
The rest of the morning had rolled by rather slowly. Hank was pretty tired throughout most of it, enjoying the rest of his coffee at his computer as he scrolled through various articles online. Connor was already puttering about behind him, tidying the kitchen and living room around him. Hank expected to feel crowded, but he didn't seem to mind Connors presence behind him as he scrolled through the news. While he did enjoy his alone time, there was something calming about the familiar android being around. Hank spun around in his chair to watch Connor, who was at the sink washing the dishes.

"You know, you don't need to do all this, Connor." He spoke up, breaking the silence between them. 

"I want to, Lieutenant." Connor glanced over his shoulder at Hank, a small little smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he scrubbed at a plate that Hank had eaten pizza off of last night. "You can't live in a dirty environment, it's not good for your health."

"It's not dirty. Just cluttered." Hank retorted, leaning back in his chair a bit as his eyes remained on Connor.

"Right. Well, either way I'm happy to help. It's the least I can do." Connor placed the clean plate up into it's proper place in the cupboard above him. 

"Do you... have any things you need to bring over or?"

"Hm?" Connor hummed questioningly, closing the cupboards and turning around to meet Hank's eyes.

"You know, like possessions?"

"Oh..." Connor thought about this for a moment. He really didn't have any possessions of his own that he needed to go get. He just had the clothes on his back honestly, he never did acquire anything that he considered his. "No, I don't."

"Huh..." Hank nodded subtly, almost feeling a bit bad for the android. He grew to know Connor over the past few weeks before the revolution, and throughout all the good and bad times they experienced together, he realized that he never really did know all that much about Connor. He knew that he was an android prototype that was created to aid investigators. He knew that Connor liked dogs, and that he was an inquisitive android as well. He knew that he had developed empathy before he had even deviated, and that he put Hank's safety and needs ahead of his mission multiple times. He knew that Connor was a kind soul, but what he didn't know was what he was interested in. What he liked to do in his spare time, what sort of clothes he'd like to wear other than that spiffy little Cyberlife jacket that he still adorned even after the shut down of the company. Maybe Connor still hasn't figured that out for himself quite yet.

Most other androids were removing their LED's and expressing themselves with their own unique styles by coloring their hair and wearing different clothing. But then there was Connor, the android who remained clothed in his Cyberlife uniform with that little LED still there in his head. Poor Connor still hadn't quite found himself yet. Hank watched him closely as he continued to tidy up the kitchen, thinking about what he could do to help Connor find an identity for himself. With a soft sigh, he got up from his chair and picked up his mug, bringing it over to the sink to wash it.

He could feel Connors eyes on his back as he washed the mug.

"I can do that for you if you like-"

"No, I got it." Hank interrupted, fully expecting Connor to offer that. "I don't need you to be my maid you know."

"I know." 

"Then don't act like one, okay?" Hank placed the clean mug up in the cupboard. Connor went quiet, and Hank turned to look at him. That soft face of his looked slightly sad, so Hank sighed. "Look, you don't need to spend every day cleaning and doing all this, alright? If you're going to live with me, you gotta relax a bit." 

"I understand. I've never really... relaxed much, but I'll try." Connor admitted, his voice a bit soft. 

Never relaxed. Hank shook his head a bit, stepping up to the android and placing a firm hand on his shoulder. He was still slightly cold from being outside earlier this morning.

"I need to take Sumo for his morning walk, how about you take a break then and come with me?" Hank had asked him. He knew walking a dog wasn't exactly relaxing, but at least he could get Connor used to his current schedule like this.

"Of course." Connor agreed, just happy to be here with Hank. It didn't really matter to him what Hank had asked him to do, he just felt elated that the man allowed him to stay here in the first place. 

The two had stepped out into that crisp afternoon air, Hank holding Sumo's leash. The cold was already biting at Hank's cheeks second after stepping outside. He had dressed up in a warm coat and thick jeans, while Connor remained in his light little uniform. Hank wondered if Connor was bothered by the cold at all. He remembered the time he took Connor to that park near the bridge that one cold night. He remembered vaguely that the android seemed to act as if he were slightly cold, but Hank didn't know what was simulated and what wasn't sometimes when it came to Connor. He couldn't help but to worry about him though, as they walked down the street. The air was especially cold today, which left Connor crossing his arms across his chest as they walked on.

"You cold?" He finally asked Connor, eyeing that yellow LED. 

"I'm fine." Connor responded quickly. Hank could swear that he was almost... shivering though. It was strange how human Connor had seemed at times. It was almost uncanny how human these androids were, you really couldn't tell that they were machines other than that tell tale LED on the sides of their temples.

"Well, just let me know if you need to get back home, alright?" 

Home. Connor smiled a bit as they walked on, watching Sumo happily walk by Hanks side, matching their pace. He couldn't stop thinking about how Hank let him stay with him. He didn't know what to expect when he asked, knowing how Hank felt about androids in the past. It was still a touchy subject for him understandably, but Connor knew Hank respected androids more than most people did. After all, Hank had helped him aid Markus and the rest of Jericho in the revolution when he had infiltrated the Cyberlife tower. It took a couple days to get on Hank's good side, but he had gained the Lieutenant's respect overtime by showing his own humanity. It took Connor longer than it should have to deviate, but it was difficult with the hold that Cyberlife had on his mind and body. Even now, a little piece of him was still worried that somehow Amanda would try to take over his programming once again.

Connor was starting to feel his body stiffening a bit, his synthetic muscles tensing from the freezing air. He was definitely getting dangerously cold now, as he tried to blink away the temperature warnings popping up in his vision. He turned his self heating system as high as it could go, but it could only do so much in such cold weather for so long. Hank took notice to this, as Connor slowed to a stop.

"Connor? You okay?" He asked, his own hands now stuffed into the pockets of his jacket in attempts to keep them warm. Sumo stopped as well, seeming completely fine in this weather. Sumo had a built in fur coat, he was probably plenty warm.

"I'm... I'm fine. I'm a bit... cold." Connor admitted with a slightly shaky voice, his LED flickering between yellow and a hint of red every now and then. His systems were only made to handle a certain amount of cold, but too much was damaging to him. Hank stepped up to the android, seeming to study him for a moment. Connors eyelashes were nearly frozen solid, and with that alone Hank immediately knew Connor needed to warm up. He placed a large hand on the androids arm, urging Connor to turn and follow him. 

"Alright, were going home now. Come on." Hank said, and Connor obliged. He turned to head back with Hank, Sumo nonchalantly trotting by their side on his leash. 

Thankfully they hadn't strayed too far from Hank's home, and it didn't take them long to get back. After hanging his winter coat up, Hank immediately turned up his thermostat. Poor Connor was trembling there as he stood in the entrance way, hair and shoulders dusted with snow. Shivering was something Hank didn't even know Connor was capable of until now. What even was the function for shivering in androids? Maybe to keep warm? It was extremely cold out today, probably the coldest it's ever been this year. 

"C'mere, Connor." Hank spoke up, moving over to stand behind the couch, gesturing for him to sit. Connor began to slowly and stiffly walk over, taking a seat as he was told. Hank felt a bit worried for him, noticing that his movements were almost as if some of his limbs were locked up slightly. The older man then picked up the blanket he had draped over the back of the couch, walking around to the front of it to stand in front of Connor and wrapping the large blanket around the RK800's trembling form. He placed the back of his hand against Connors cheek which was flushed deep blue, and immediately furrowed his brow.

"Jesus Christ, you're freezing." Hank was concerned. This was way too cold, even for someone who wasn't human. Hank was still quite cold himself, but thanks to his jacket he was much better off than Connor currently. He felt bad for even taking Connor out there now, he should have known the android wouldn't be okay in that kind of cold with such light clothing for so long.

"I'm okay, my self heating systems are still working. I'll warm up very soon." Connor spoke in a reassuring tone as he looked up to meet Hank's gaze, but his voice was shaky as his body still trembled slightly under that big blanket. His cold hands gripped at the fabric tightly as he hugged it closer around himself. His thirium pump was beating slowly, struggling to pump thirium throughout his body due to the intense cold it was exposed to. Connor felt slightly tired because of that, but he knew he'd be alright. He just needed warmth, and his systems would be perfectly back to normal.

Hank ran a hand down his bearded face. He was worried for Connor. He didn't realize that androids could be this delicate to the cold. They were definitely hardier than humans, but they did still have their weaknesses. Machines weren't invincible, not even to the weather. With a soft sigh, Hank took a seat on the couch next to Connor. He placed his arm over the freezing android's shoulder, pulling him into his side a bit. He heard Connor suck in a tiny gasp and tense under his touch, but ignored it. He needed to be warmed up.

Connor was absolutely frozen beneath that blanket, it was making Hank feel colder as well, but his body heat should be enough to help the android warm up even slightly. 

"We're getting you a jacket." Hank broke the silence between them as he gave Connors shoulder a small squeeze through the thick blanket. Connor looked over at Hank, brown eyes meeting deep blue ones.

"You don't need to get me anything, Hank." 

"I clearly do, look how frozen you are." Hank spoke firmly, not willing to let Connor talk him out of this. 

He didn't care what Connor wanted, Hank was going to buy him warm clothes for the winter now that he knew that the cold could damage androids like this. Connor exhaled a shaky breath, eyes moving down to look at the coffee table in front of them. Hank leaned forward to grab the remote to the television, flicking on a sports channel. After a while of sitting there under that blanket and next to Hank, Connors trembling came to an end, and his LED whirred back into a light blue from it's previous yellow color. His systems were restoring back to their normal state, and he was feeling much better. He couldn't understand why, but there was something so incredibly pleasant about the feeling of Hank's heavy arm wrapped around his shoulder, and the warmth radiating off his body through that blanket as he remained close to him on the couch. He didn't ever want to move from this spot, even if his temperature was perfectly fine now.

"Thank you." He finally spoke up, and Hank grunted in response. In all honesty, Hank didn't know how to be comforting or helpful towards Connor quite yet. There was something about the android that made him feel nervous somehow, but he couldn't put his finger on why. It was true that they haven't known each other for long yet, but they have been through hell and back together in that short amount of time. Connor became important to Hank without him even realizing it, and he wanted to get to know Connor better now. He wanted to be more comfortable around him, and he wanted Connor to feel comfortable with him as well. He was well aware that he was all Connor had right now, and he thinks that the android knew just how alone Hank was without him as well.

  
The rest of the day was spent relaxing, Connor had gone into stasis next to Hank without warning him in order to repair his internal systems and bio components from the cold. He was just so comfortable there on that couch, it didn't take him long to slip into stasis. It startled Hank after he attempted to speak to Connor with no response, only to look over to see him leaning there limply against Hank's side on the couch. After Hank realized he was only in stasis due to his LED still remaining a light blue and his simulated and slow breathing, he calmed. His blue eyes studied Connors sleeping face then, taking in just how perfect he truly did look.

Was he always this... pretty? His features were soft and slightly pale, a few small freckles dusting his soft skin here and there. He was made to be perfect, Sculpted into such an attractive and charming man. but why the hell was he so handsome? What was Cyberlife doing making such an attractive android for nothing but police work? He shook away those strange thoughts, as he turned his head back to the television. He let Connor rest there against him, still wrapped cutely in that big blanket.


	2. What is there to do, without you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> when I said slow burn - I meant it :')  
> This will be pretty long and drawn out, but there will be some fluff, angst, and some eventual smut as well! You'll just need to be patient~
> 
> Also - Comments are very much appreciated as well!

It was dark outside when Connor awoke from his stasis, that big blanket still wrapped around his body tightly. His system time told him that it was only 7pm, but due to the season, it was already quite dark outside. He had a pillow placed underneath his head now in the place of where Hank used to be. Connor did a quick scan of the room as he sat up, noticing that the other man was nowhere to be seen. He blinked, taking a moment to fully wake his systems before slowly making his way up to his feet.

"Hank?" Connor called out, his voice soft and almost tired sounding. Although, there was no answer - only the sound of the chilled wind blowing against the sides of the house outside. Connor felt concerned then, quickly walking to Hank's bedroom. The door was ajar, so he quietly peeked in. His bed was unmade and empty.

The bathroom door was also open, and Connor could tell that it wasn't occupied. Where had Hank gone off to while he was in stasis? He had no way of contacting the Lieutenant at all, so Connor found himself pacing in the living room anxiously. 

All he could do was wait. Thankfully for his nerves, he didn't need to wait very long. He heard the sound of a car pull up front, the faint sound of muffled heavy metal accompanying it. 

He made his way over to the window to peek outside, feeling relief wash over him as he saw Hank stepping out his old car and making his way to the trunk to pull out bags of groceries. Connor scrambled a bit to open the front door for him as he approached with his hands full, and the older man seemed a bit surprised at the sudden opening of the door. 

"Connor, you're up." He stated, taking a step inside. His brown jacket was dusted with white flecks of snow from the heavy snowfall outside.

"Lieutenant... Where did you go?" Connor asked curiously, but also with a small sense of urgency. "The weather isn't very optimal for safe driving."

"Well I'm alive, aren't I?" Hank raised a brow, before walking past Connor and placing the grocery bags on his kitchen table. The android's LED circled yellow for just a moment, before going back to it's normal blue color. He then closed the front door and locked it.

"I suppose you are." 

Sumo excitedly got up from where he was laying and padded over to Hank, pushing his snout against his outer thigh. Hank placed a hand on the Saint Bernard's head while taking some of the groceries out of the bag with his other. Connor made his way over to help him unload and put away the food. As he pulled out some fresh celery and tomato, he felt proud of Hank.

"I'm glad to see you got some fresh ingredients." Connor said with a sweet tone, a small smile on his soft lips. Hank would never admit it, but he found himself eyeing those lips more than he'd like to. There was just something about Connor that was starting to get to Hank, in a way he didn't even want to begin to think about.

"Yeah, I figured you'd get on my ass about unhealthy shit, so I picked up some meat and veggies." Hank took out some of the frozen packages of chicken and steaks, moving over to the fridge to pop them into the freezer. "There's also some spices in one of the bags too. I'm not much of a chef, so I just grabbed some basic stuff."

Connor felt delighted. He was worried previously for Hank's health based off of the foods he was consuming on a daily basis, not to mention the alcohol as well. He rooted through a few of the bags, before finding the spices that Hank mentioned. Salt, pepper, cumin, various steak spices, and basil. Connor knew how to cook thanks to his programming, and he was honestly excited at the idea that Hank wanted him to cook for him. The man wasn't subtle, buying all this fresh food like this. Connor felt flattered honestly, and he was already looking forward to cooking for Hank.

"Would you like me to make something?" Connor asked, eyeing Hank.

"I'm pretty starving actually. But, I'm also exhausted." The older man leaned against the counter after he finished stocking his fridge with the new groceries. "Is there anything you can make kinda quickly?"

Of course he was tired, Connor had woken him up at 6am that morning, and he's been awake ever since. He always knew that Hank didn't have the most optimal of sleep schedules, recalling how exhausted the man would come into work some days. He wondered how much sleep he got the night before. Probably not a lot judging by his current exhaustion.

"Of course, Hank. Do you like salads? If you're not in the mood for that I c-"

"Salad's fine. I'm not really that picky. I just need to get to bed soon, I have work in the morning."

Right. Work. Connor nearly forgot that Hank still had work. While his days as an android detective have come to an end, Hank still needed to carry on with his job and his life. Connor wondered what it would be like to continue working as Hank's partner. He wondered if it would be possible to get back onto the force. While androids were technically free now, they still were being discriminated against. some humans still didn't quite want androids working in certain places, or doing certain things.

  
It didn't take Connor long to prepare a rather decadent salad for Hank. He washed and cut the vegetables into completely perfect slices, prepared and cut some chicken into slices as well before grilling them. In the meantime, Hank had sat down to watch some basketball idly while he waited. As Connor glanced over his shoulder while he prepped the food, he noticed that Hank was nodding off slightly. He still felt a bit guilty, knowing Hank was most likely exhausted now because Connor had woken him up too early this morning by showing up on his doorstep. Sleep was another thing Connor wanted to help him get more of. He just... wanted to make sure Hank was taking care of himself.

"It's ready, Hank." Connor spoke up after drizzling some light ranch dressing overtop and mixing it in. He then took the bowl and approached the tired man, setting it down on the coffee table in front of him.

"Huh. Thanks, Connor." Hank blinked a few times in attempts to wake himself up a bit more, before leaning forward and grabbing the bowl. Connor smiled and nodded, before taking a seat on the couch next to him. The android couldn't help but to watch him intently as he stabbed some grilled chicken and lettuce onto his fork, taking a bite. He waited patiently to see if Hank had approved of his cooking.

"Wow." He said after chewing and swallowing the bite of food. "This is pretty good, Connor." He said before taking another big bite.

The android smiled, feeling content that he made something healthy that Hank seemed to be enjoying. Judging by the fast food and take out boxes he previously cleared out earlier today, him being here to cook healthy things for Hank was a good thing. Hank wasn't really in bad shape currently, but Connor was well aware of the effects of too much bad cholesterol and calorie consumption in humans. Clogged arteries, diabetes, the list went on. Hank wasn't exactly old per say, but he was at the age that upkeeping a poor diet could badly affect his health.

"You gonna keep staring at me?" Hank was looking at Connor now, fork still in hand.

"Oh! Sorry, Lieutenant." Connor turned his gaze over to absently watch the television, feeling his cheeks growing a bit warm with thirium. He had been a bit lost in his thoughts, and didn't intend to stare so much. Connor was just happy that Hank was enjoying his meal that he made him, and strangely enough he enjoyed just looking at Hank. It made him feel happy when Hank was happy.

After a couple more minutes, Hank set the empty bowl down on the coffee table and got up to stretch a bit. He placed his hands on his lower back and pushed his hips forward a bit with a big yawn. Connor checked hi system time then, which indicated it was 8:15pm.

"Well, I'm off to bed." Hank's voice was soft. Connor noticed that he sounded quite tired as well. "Did you want to uh... sleep on the couch? Do you even need to sleep again?"

Connor looked up to meet Hank's blue eyes from where he sat. Honestly, he hadn't thought too much yet about what he'd do while Hank slept. He already went into stasis earlier today, but he supposed he could again in order to pass the time.

"Sure, Hank." Connor smiled sweetly, and Hank couldn't help but to look at the android's face a bit longer than he should have. Connor was quite the attractive android, but Hank didn't like to catch himself thinking that for too long. It was weird- it made him feel strange, and the second he caught himself staring or thinking these things, he quickly shook them off. But why the hell did CyberLife need to give him those pretty brown doe eyes and those soft pink lips? 

"Well, alright. Goodnight then. The blanket's and pillow are still there for you. If you need anything else you know where my room is." Hank dismissed himself, and Connor nodded, watching Hank as he headed off to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

"Goodnight, Lieutenant." 

Connor found himself sitting absently there on the couch, the sound of the television quietly playing throughout the living room. He could hear the sink running from the bathroom as well, as Hank was most likely brushing his teeth - something androids didn't ever need to bother with. There was such small little things that humans did that made them fascinating to Connor, even the menial little tasks and the things that most humans found boring or uninteresting. The way Hank ate, breathed, grew facial hair, and even sneezed sometimes. These meaningless little human things were all so interesting to Connor, and he felt like he could observe that man all day. He wondered what certain things felt like, but he'd never get to experience them in his lifetime. But that was simply just the difference between humans and androids.

Connor would always stay the same, his hair would never grow an inch, he wouldn't age visually. He had no function for eating, exercising, or even breathing. Most of his human acts were programmed specifically to come across as more inviting, and they didn't serve a purpose. Even his skin was simply there just to look more human, even if he didn't particularly need it. That thought made him feel slightly melancholic, but he couldn't exactly identify why. Connor wished that deviating had come with a little handbook.

Just then, Connor heard Hank exit the bathroom and close his bedroom door. He thought about what he was going to do for the rest of the night, his brown eyes glancing around the small living room. His systems didn't need any more rest, so he had no practical need for stasis currently. His eyes stopped on that record player Hank had in the corner of the living room, and he got up and made his way over to it.

Connor picked up one of the jazz records and examined it, taking in the photos and words along the front and back of the cover. With a small glance over at Hank's door first, Connor slipped the record slowly out of it's case. He carefully held it in his hands, examining it's grooves and details. 

He was equipped with the knowledge on how to do most things, as he was still the most advanced android Cyberlife has created this far. He knew to open up the glass casing of the record player and set the record down, and place the cartridge down against the record. He then pressed play, and low, smooth jazz began to play.

Connor smiled slightly, taking in the interesting sounds of the instruments and the melody. His LED flickered a soft yellow then as he closed his eyes and analyzed it a bit deeper.

**[Analysis: Instruments being played - Saxophone, bass, piano]**

Hank was an interesting man, and had such unique tastes in music. This smooth music was very different from what Connor was used to listening to when he'd ride with Hank in his car. He remembered then what Hank had called it: Heavy metal. He liked heavy metal, and he liked Jazz. Even before deviating, Connor found himself fascinated with music. Depending on the genre and the song, it gave off a certain emotion that Connor could feel. This song was slow and smooth, it made him feel calm and serene. 

His eyes moved along the room to scan for something else he could discover. Maybe he could use his surroundings to learn more about Hank. The Lieutenant was Connor's only close friend at the moment, and he wanted to know more about him. He had such a strange urge to learn more and more about the older man who, unfortunately for Connor, was quite reclusive. He didn't like giving up details of his life, but the android was extremely observant. Connor was eying the large bookshelf that lined the wall behind the couch, and made his way over quietly. 

His brown eyes scanned over the many books lining the shelves, his slender fingers tracing along the hinds of the books as he searched for something that piqued his interest. His hand then stopped on one of the books that was much thicker than the rest. Ah... What was this?

He pulled out the large binder, surprisingly quite heavy in his hands as he held it in front of himself. Family photos was written in messy but familiar handwriting along the hind of the binder, and Connor could easily see with a quick scan that it was Hank's writing. He made his way back over to the couch to take a seat, resting the large binder on the coffee table in front of him.

He wondered if this was something he should be doing, as the low jazz music played throughout the dimly lit living room. Would Hank want him to be snooping through his belongings like this? In fact, something like this was more than just belongings- it was his life. He could hear Hank's gentle snoring coming from his bedroom now. He most likely wouldn't be caught.

As Connor slowly opened up to the first page, he saw a photo of a small playground. He easily recognized this location to be the same place him and Hank were that one cold night, where Hank got drunk and put a gun to Connors head. Next to that photo was another one of the same park, but featured a young boy on the swing. 

Cole.

He didn't even need to scan the little boy's familiar face to know who it was. Connor smiled slightly. Somehow, his thirium pump felt as if it began to beat a little faster in his chest. He's only ever seen one photo of Cole before, so it was quite interesting to see him like this. The next photo was Cole being pushed in that swing by Hank. A cleaned up, tidy looking, smiling Hank. He looked quite different, his hair was shorter and a little more blonde. Still greying, but not fully. His beard was short and trimmed well. He was honestly quite handsome. He looked carefree, and as Connor flipped through more of the photos and scanned through them, something in his chest seemed to feel warm somehow.

His eyes stopped then a photo of a women he's never seen before. He performed a quick facial scan.

**[Eileen White. 45. Currently running a bakery in Denver]**

The woman was pretty, long blonde hair falling over her shoulders as she sat with Cole on a nice couch. This must have been Hank's ex wife, Connor concluded. Their home was different than Hank's current home in these photos as well. As he examined the next few pages, his suspicions were confirmed as he stopped on a photo of that woman with her arms wrapped around Hank's neck in a tender embrace. 

They looked really happy. They were in love. Connor's mind wandered a bit as he thought about what being in love would feel like, fingers gently gripping the edges of the photo album. Love was something that Connor couldn't quite seem to understand - It was confusing to him. He remembered seeing Markus and North sharing a moment together after he returned from infiltrating the Cyberlife tower. That's what he assumed love was, at least. 

The way Eileen looked at Hank in these photos, those green eyes of hers seemed to almost sparkle. Her smile was so genuine, and she seemed so happy. And so did Hank, he looked as if he truly cared about her. They seemed very fond of each other.

And Cole. Poor, poor Cole. As Connor made his way through more photos, he couldn't shake the feeling of sadness that began welling up in his chest that none of them knew what was coming in a couple of years. The photos of Hank holding his son, pushing him gently along a road as he was on a bike, the 3 of them on a boat in out a lake. In every captured little memory that filled up this book, they were so happy. So oblivious to what cruel plans the future held for them. 

Connor couldn't take it. His LED circled into a bright yellow hue as he finally brought himself to close the photo album and put it back on the shelf, where it was found. Something about seeing Hank so happy and so oblivious made Connor feel troubled. This feeling was an emotion that the RK800 didn't enjoy - it was sharp and painful, radiating through this chest in unpleasant ways. Sadness, discomfort.

He knew the pain Hank felt for losing his son, he's witnessed him slowly trying to ruin his body for the past few weeks with alcohol and smoking. That in itself was difficult for Connor to understand, wanting to purposely end your life. Being new to emotions was hard, but he was starting to realize himself how awful emotional pain could truly be, even in small little doses. He's never experienced anything as emotionally difficult as Hank's loss must have been, but it made his chest ache to think about it. 

Connor made his way back over the couch and took a seat there once again, a shaky breath escaping his lips. Why did it pain him like this, to see those photos and memories? He's discussed Cole with Hank in the past, and it would always flood his vision with software instability warnings, but seeing all of those photos seemed to dig into him a bit deeper. What finally knocked him out of those depressing thoughts though, was the feeling of the couch cushion next to him being weighed down. And then warmth. He glanced to his side, to see that Sumo had climbed up onto the couch next to him, and before he could react, the large dog's head was being laid down on his lap.

"Sumo..." the android whispered through a gentle smile, his LED almost immediately circling back to it's normal blue color. He placed his hand gently on the Saint Bernard's head, and ran his fingers through the soft fur. He liked this feeling. Comfort, and warmth.

"Thank you for looking after your master so well all this time. You're such a good boy." he whispered softly to the dog, his gentle voice just barely audible over the soft music.

Sumo was heavy, soft, and warm. The large dog laying his head across his lap like this gave Connor a similar feeling as to when Hank had pulled him into a tight hug that snowy day in front of the Chicken Feed truck. It made him smile just thinking about that again. It was so... comforting. Connor didn't quite realize just how touch starved he was before then, as he's never really experienced any physical contact like that before then.

Connor decided as he ran his hands through the long coat of soft fur, that he liked contact. He liked feeling Sumo's weight and warmth, he liked when Hank had his arms wrapped tightly around his body. It left him with such a nice feeling. 

As he sat there patting that massive dog, Connor began to feel himself become a bit 'tired' once again. He supposed he could let himself fall back into stasis, at least until Hank woke up again. He was so comfortable where he sat, and he let his eyes slip closed. He fell into another stasis, sitting upright with his back against the backrest of the couch, and Sumo happily asleep there on his lap.

  
Hank awoke at 6am the next morning to the obnoxious sound of his alarm. He grumbled tiredly, fumbling around the sheets for his phone to turn off the loud and repetitive sound. Although he did finally get a long and well needed rest from his early retirement last night, He never was a morning person. The Lieutenant sat up slowly, rubbing at his tired eyes with a long yawn. As his mind began to clear as he took a few moments to wake up a bit more, the sound of soft jazz music could be faintly heard from the living room. Was Connor messing around with his stuff?

He crawled out of his comfortable bed with a sigh, making his way over to his bedroom door and opening it. Hank walked quietly into his living room, stopping in the hallway as he saw the back of Connor's head. He was still sitting there on the couch.

"Morning." Hank greeted him, before making his way into the kitchen to start up his coffee maker. He raised a brow at the silence that followed his greeting, and turned around to see Connor's eyes closed, Sumo laying across his lap. 

Hank let out a soft 'heh', a gentle smile tugging at the corner of his lips. The sight was kind of sweet. Sumo was such a goof, but he was a gentle and kind dog. He loved everyone, no matter if they were human or android.

He decided he'd let Connor rest some more, he looked comfortable even if it was a bit strange to fall asleep sitting in an upright position like that. Hank then made his way to the bathroom to take a hot shower while his coffee brewed.

**[Audio cue - running water from the shower - Hank is awake and in the bathroom.]**

Connor's LED whirled back to life just then, and his brown eyes opened. He blinked a bit and glanced around the room, adjusting to the light that was flooding in through the windows. It took only a couple seconds for his systems to fully initialize when he woke from stasis.

He glanced down at Sumo, who lifted his head to look up at Connor after the sudden movements of him waking up. With a soft smile, he gave the dog a few loving strokes on his head, before Sumo decided to slowly get up and hop off the couch, padding over to sit in front of his empty food bowl. 

Connor wasn't quite sure what he should be doing when not around Hank sometimes; he felt strange not having specific objectives to follow. It was new, and confusing. So, he just sat there for a moment, drumming his fingers against his knees as he thought about what he could do. 

Aha! He'd make Hank some breakfast. Connor was in the kitchen in seconds once he'd mentally given himself a task, pulling out a carton of eggs, milk, and some bacon from the fridge. He went to work quickly, skillfully cracking three eggs into a bowl and whisking them together with some milk. Even though he wasn't exactly designed for housekeeping, Connor still had access to over 4000 different recipes in his programming. Some simple and quick scrambled eggs were almost no effort for him at all.

Connor enjoyed cooking for Hank, though. The idea of Hank enjoying something that he made was somehow exciting. As he poured the mixture onto a frying pan and began to stir it around with a spatula, he picked up the sound of the shower turning off. Then a small whine from Sumo, who was still patiently waiting by his food bowl.

"Oh, Sumo! Just hang on one moment, okay? I'll get you your breakfast too." Connor glanced over his shoulder at Sumo with a soft smile, as he continued to scramble the eggs in the pan with the spatula. He gently dumped a portion onto a plate for Hank, and then moved over to pick up Sumo's food bowl and bring it back over to the Counter. The dog eagerly followed him, tail wagging in anticipation as he pressed his nose against Connor's thigh. He dumped a portion of dry dog food into the bowl, and then picked up the frying pan once again.

"Hang on," Connor said with a small laugh, finding it amusing how eager Sumo was for food. He was fed a healthy portion of dog food last night, but he acted as if he hasn't eaten in years. Connor then scraped some of the eggs from the pan into Sumo's bowl, and the dog nudged into his leg once again, tail wagging furiously.

"Ah, you're salivating on me..." 

"Yeah, he does that." Hank's voice made Connor jump a little, as he didn't hear him coming. 

"Oh! Hank. Good morning." Connor's voice was cheerful. Maybe a bit too cheerful, as he was honestly just happy to get to interact with the lieutenant once again. He didn't exactly like spending time alone, as he's been doing that for the past week while staying with Jericho. 

"What are you making?" Hank was over by his coffee maker now, filling up a mug with some coffee. 

"Bacon, scrambled eggs, and some toast." As if on cue, the toaster popped loudly, causing them both to flinch slightly at the sudden sound. 

"Huh. Thanks." 

Connor gave Hank a genuine smile, and turned his attention back on the bacon that was still frying.

"If you would like to sit down, the bacon will be done in approximately two minutes."

Hank obliged silently, walking over to the small kitchen table and taking a seat. "You know, you really don't need to do this."

"Again, Hank. I don't mind cooking for you. Honestly, it gives me something to do."

It was starting to eat at Connor a bit that he didn't exactly have anything to do, or focus on ever since the revolution. His calculated mind was so used to running through tasks and objectives almost constantly, while now he wasn't quite sure what to do especially when he was on his own. When he was only a machine, he never felt bored or anxious when he didn't have any tasks. He just idly sat there, taking in his environment. But now, he had too many thoughts, feelings, and emotions - including boredom.

He plated the toast and the bacon alongside the scrambled eggs, and set it down on the table in front of Hank who had been scrolling through his phone. He looked up from his device as it was placed on the table.

"Thanks, Connor. I appreciate it, honestly." Hank gave Connor a weak but sincere smile, before taking a sip of his coffee. 

"No problem, Lieutenant." Connor nodded, before heading back to the counter to break up some pieces of bacon, placing them in Sumo's bowl. He then placed it back down on the floor, and Sumo excitedly and quickly dug into his breakfast.

"You know, you don't need to keep calling me Lieutenant." Hank spoke up, after swallowing a bite of his food. 

"I apologize, I think calling you that became a bit of a habit." Connor admitted with a bit of a sheepish look, pulling out a chair and taking a seat across from Hank. "I'll try to refrain from using such formalities."

"Just call me Hank. Besides, you're not exactly my partner anymore anyways."

"Right..." The RK800's soft voice held a small twinge of disappointment, and Hank looked up from his food to watch him for a moment. Hank didn't expect that to hit any nerves, but Connor seemed almost sad, his LED glowing yellow.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Hank." Connor gave him a slight smile, clasping his slender hands together on his lap. under the table. 

"Hm. You sure?" Hank asked the android before taking a bite of his toast.

"I'm sure." 

Hank knew what he said had disappointed Connor. That little mood ring on his head was a clear indicator of how he was feeling, and Hank learned over the time he's spent with Connor that it tends to fluctuate quite frequently with Connor's thoughts. He wondered if androids had any control over that little light. It was slightly obvious that Connor wanted to continue working alongside Hank, but he didn't even know if that was possible after the revolution. He'd have to see.

As Hank finished up his food and got up from the table, Connor remained silent, watching him with those soft, deep brown eyes.

"I gotta run now. Fowler will kill me if I'm late, after that Perkins thing." The lieutenant took one last swig of his coffee, before letting out a small 'ah' sound and setting it down onto the table next to his empty plate. "I'll see you later."

Connor remembered what Hank had done then to that FBI agent, and honestly felt a bit amused at how Fowler let yet another thing slide when it came to Hank. He was happy that the Lieutenant was taking his job more seriously and making an effort to get there on time in the morning.

"Alright, Hank... I'll see you later." Connor said, watching as the older man slipped on his winter jacket.

"Oh, if you want I can take you shopping later." Hank spoke up again, buttoning up his coat.

Connor perked up a bit from where he sat, eyes glistening over with a bit of excitement. "Shopping?"

"Yeah you know, for clothes. So you don't need to wear that spiffy little getup anymore." 

"I would love to, Hank. I don't have any currency though, and I'd feel guilty if you spent yours on me."

"It's fine, Connor. You need clothes, especially warm ones. We'll go when I get back alright?" 

"Okay, Hank. Thank you." Connor couldn't fight back a small smile. Seeing Hank like this was nice, he seemed somewhat happy. Maybe he liked Connor's presence. And he was just so thoughtful underneath that grumpy barrier he puts up usually. 

  
Connor then watched through the front window as Hank pulled out of his driveway and headed off. The sound of muffled heavy metal faded out as the car drove off out of view, leaving Connor with the sound of that soft jazz music that remained on from last night and the sound of Sumo licking his food bowl clean.

Now, he just needed to wait a few hours alone again.


	3. Alongside you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter done!~ Finally!
> 
> Thanks for everyone's patience with me, I'm currently balancing my studies with some work so I'm writing whenever I have free time and energy for it! Anyways, I hope everyone's having a safe and spooky month this October~
> 
> Please enjoy!~

Connor found himself idly sitting there on the couch with Sumo at his feet, watching tv while he waited for Hank to return home from work. He had already done the dishes, cleaned every surface until it was nearly spotless, and even did Hank's laundry. Connor preferred to be productive, so cleaning had honestly given him something to do with his day while he waited. Relaxing wasn't something he had much of a grasp on quite yet, so sitting there with nothing productive to do only made him feel a bit anxious.

He checked his system time, 5:30pm. It was almost a bit dark outside thanks to the winter season. Hank should be off work any moment now. The television droned on about android rights and new laws coming into place, thanks to Markus and the rest of Jericho. Connor smiled a bit to himself as he saw a video of Markus shaking the presidents hand after their meeting together. Honestly, he would always be grateful to Markus for doing what he did and accepting Connor into Jericho even after everything he had done.

Connor felt his synthetic heart nearly leap out of his chest suddenly as he heard the sound of faint heavy metal music, and the sound of Hank's car pulling up into his driveway. Connor was up in a split moment, along with Sumo who had made his way to the front window to press his paws against it and watch with his tail wagging rapidly as Hank got out of his car outside. Connor was right there next to Sumo, the both of them anxiously waiting for Hank to come back in. If Connor had a tail like Sumo, it would be wagging excitedly as well.

The man couldn't help but to feel amused at this as he made his way to his front door. Having Connor around was almost like having a second dog, in a way. He opened up the door and stepped inside, Sumo excitedly padding up to him and licking his hands. Hank ruffled the Saint Bernard's fur lovingly.

"Hey, boy. You're happy today aren't you? Did Connor keep you good company?" Hank said in such a sweet voice, meeting Connor's gaze to see the android smiling at him. 

"He's been really good company actually." Connor admitted, his brown eyes moving down to look at the sweet dog who was still so happy to see his owner home. 

"I'm gonna have to break his heart here in a second. I'm just gonna run to the bathroom and then we can head out, alright?" Hank made his way down the hall to the bathroom. "Don't think I forgot about tonight."

Connor was left smiling where he stood. He was excited to get to go out and do something with Hank, and he was honestly looking forward to this all day. Ever since Hank had told him that he was going to take him out this evening, he's been anxiously awaiting the Lieutenants return. Of course, Connor could always go out on his own, but he didn't have any money so he wasn't sure what he could do other than go for walks.

  
It wasn't long before the two of them got into Hank's car and headed off into the city. Connor felt a sense of nostalgia as he sat here in this dirty old car, the sound of heavy metal blasting loudly and the smell of tobacco filling his senses. It wasn't exactly the most desirable ride, but Connor was content sitting here in his passenger seat. He remembers the first time he got into the car with Hank after buying him a drink at the bar. It wasn't that long ago, but the memory if the first time he's spoken to Hank made him feel warm.

The car slowed to a stop as Hank pulled up against a sidewalk down town and began to parallel park. He placed a hand on the back of Connor's headrest to twist his body around in order to see out of the back window as he maneuvered his car into the parking space. Connor could smell tobacco on his jacket, with a hint of his cologne. 

  
**[Cologne Brand - Versace Eros. Hints of Atlas cedar, Virginian cedar, oakmoss, vetiver and Madagascar vanilla]**

  
Connor liked how Hank smelled. It was woody and musky, sort of... compelling. Those soft brown eyes of his were locked on Hank's face as he parked the car, taking in each little detail and imperfection. But those imperfections were intriguing to the RK800. He liked those little moles and rough spots on the older man's skin, it made him so unique. Humans always had this authentic one-of-a-kind uniqueness to them, while androids resembled thousands of other androids out there. Hank was a handsome man even in his fifties, Connor definitely noticed that. Was he supposed to be attracted to Hank though? Probably not.

"Alright," Hank started, knocking Connor from his intrusive thoughts as he pulled the parking break. "We'll try here, they tend to have more... spiffy stuff." Hank eyed Connor a bit.

"Okay, Hank. Thank you again for taking me out, I really do appreciate this." Connor thanked him again, to which Hank just nodded a bit. He watched the Lieutenant open his door and get out, and Connor followed suit. The air was cold, but not as cold as yesterday. The sun was almost setting completely now, and the streetlights above had flicked on above them as they headed into the clothing store. 

The store was nice, with tons of rather dressy and sleek men's clothing lining the walls and the racks along the floor. Light pop music echoed through the building, and Connor found himself glancing around. He had no clue where to even begin.

"Well, take a look around and let me know if there's anything you'd want." Hank stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and shuffled forward so he wasn't standing in the doorway. Connor followed him up to a clothing rack that had various button up shirts hanging from it. He honestly liked the style he was wearing by default, he had even picked the tie out himself before he had deviated back then. 

"I have no idea, honestly. What do you think would look good on me?" Connor glanced to Hank, a small little laugh escaping his parted lips. Hank raised a brow at him.

"You're gonna take fashion advice from me?" Hank couldn't help but to smile a bit, a look of amusement on his face. "Well, first things first, you gotta not give a fuck."

Connor just stared at Hank, a little smirk tugging at the corner of his pouty lips. Hank's smile was nice. There was a tiny little gap between his two front teeth, which was endearing. The man had so many qualities that Connor found himself starting to like quite a bit.

"I like your style, Hank. It's very... You."

Hank raised a brow at the android.

"Huh. I'm not sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult, but thanks." Hank shook his head with a small chuckle. He was honestly happy that Connor had sought him out. He's only been living with him for a bit less than two days now, but he enjoyed the androids company more than he thought he would. 

"Now hurry up and go find some clothes already, I'm starving." He shooed Connor.

After about ten minutes, Connor had a small assortment of tops and bottoms draped over his arm. It was difficult to choose things, but thankfully he was fully aware of his dimensions so picking out sizes was an easy task. What was difficult was choosing a style that he liked. Connor didn't know at all what he even wanted, as wanting in itself was a new concept to him.

He tended to gravitate towards sleek clothing, black turtlenecks and button up tops with casual blazer jackets, fitting jeans of a few different washes and even a new tie. He had also picked out a nice winter jacket, black and grey with a high collar and a big hood. It looked warm and quite stylish.

"Did you wanna try them on?" Hank questioned him.

"That wont be necessary, I know my measurements." 

"Alright then, let's go pay for them." Hank moved past Connor, navigating through the clothing racks up to the counter. A pretty female android stood behind the counter with a warm smile which Connor had returned as he gently placed the clothing down. 

The lady android behind the counter rung in everything, which Connor was slightly taken aback to see the total. But Hank didn't even flinch, instead moving in next to Connor and pulling a card out of his wallet and paying for everything. Hank was really willing to spend that much money on him for clothing? Connor felt both guilty and humbled at the same time.

The two headed back outside and got into Hank's car, which was now quite cold inside until Hank stuck the keys into the ignition and flicked on the heating. Connor set the two bags down on the floor of the car by his feet. 

"Thank you, Lieutenant. You really didn't need to spend six hundred dollars on clothing for me though."

"Don't worry about it, Connor. You didn't have anything, not even clothes. So... now you do." Hank turned the key to start the engine, turning on his usual metal music but keeping it much lower this time. He then pulled back out onto the road.

Honestly, Connor had no clue what to say. Hank's kindness towards him was almost overwhelming, despite the coldness in which most humans displayed towards him at the beginning of his investigation. He wasn't used to generosity like this.

And Hank - Hank wasn't exactly the most outwardly warm person. He was hardened and a bit rough around the edges, but through his actions, Connor could see that he was such a kind soul deep down past all of those defensive layers he held up. It was understandable though, with all of the awful things that life threw his way. Connor remembered the genuine smile on Hank's face in those photos of the album he found last night, and that familiar feeling of anxiety began to well up in his chest once again. 

He wanted Hank to be genuinely happy like that again, the man deserved happiness.

"You good?" Hank's gruff voice pulled Connor out of his thoughts. "Your light gets sort of bright when it's yellow like that." He kept his eyes on the road, but the obvious yellow glow of Connor's LED reflecting off the passenger side window in the dark must have been slightly distracting.

"Oh." Connor's tone was soft and a bit quiet, but loud enough to be audible over the heavy metal. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm alright. I guess I've just been thinking a lot about things lately. Deviancy is... hard, and my emotions have been difficult to get used to."

"Emotions are never easy, Con." 

Con. Connor liked that. Something about Hank calling him that made him smile slightly, but he kept his eyes trained outside his window at the passing buildings and other cars.

"I know that now. That day at the Chicken Feed truck, when you told me that emotions always screw everything up, I didn't quite understand the feeling. I knew what you meant of course, but I couldn't grasp the reality of those words at the time." Connor's honey brown eyes flitted back over to look at Hank as he spoke. "But I understand it now, Hank. They do screw everything up. I almost sort of miss not feeling it all..."

Hank stayed silent as Connor spoke, but nodded slowly as he had finished. He felt bad for the android now that he could feel, honestly. For years now, Hank's been drowning in his own emotions, drinking himself into a coma almost nightly in order to drown out the dull and constant ache in his chest. But that ache lessened as time went on, although Hank still slipped up quite a bit. Depression wasn't an easy thing to overcome, and the emotional trauma from losing his son would probably always stay with him until the day he died. Now Connor was capable of these emotions himself, and he was still new to them and coping with them as well.

Maybe somehow, they could get through this shit together.

  
The car rolled to a stop next to a curb, and Connor glanced out of the window to see a quaint but nice little building. The large windows along the front made it obvious that it was a restaurant, as Connor could see tables and chairs lining the floor inside. 

"You hungry?" Hank chuckled, and Connor couldn't help but to smile a bit.

"Sure, Hank. Absolutely starving."

The two got out of the car into the chilly night air. By now, a light snowfall had begun, dusting the pavement below. They made their way inside, and seated themselves at a booth next to one of the large windows. The place was nice, nothing too fancy - but quite cozy. The atmosphere was quiet, and the lighting was slightly dim with the light of a nearby fireplace illuminating everything in an orange glow. There were a few other people here, talking in low tones and laughing every now and then. Connor decided that he liked this atmosphere. 

"Hey there!" A cheerful woman had approached their table, setting down two menus in front of Hank and Connor. "Oh, an android. Probably wont be needing this then." The woman lost her cheerful tone, as she grabbed one of the menus back and turned her attention to Hank, facing away from Connor.

"What would you like to drink today?" She asked him, the cheerfulness in her tone almost a bit reluctant and rehearsed now. 

"I'll have a Budweiser please." He glanced up from his menu to eye Connor for a moment. There really wasn't anything for him to eat or drink - he was an android, he didn't need food or drink. Hank hoped Connor didn't mind sitting here while he ate.

"Sure thing. I'll be right back with your drink and I'll take your order then." The waitress smiled, then turned on her heels to head back to the kitchen. 

"My presence seemed to make her uncomfortable." Connor spoke up as the waitress was out of earshot. Hank chuckled a bit, leaning back against the backrest of the booth. 

"She kind of acted like how you did when we first met." The android added.

"Oh, did she?" Hank raised a brow.

"Yes, except she was actually a bit more pleasant than you were." Connor said in a calm but playful tone, his pretty brown eyes trained on Hank's blue ones as he rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward slightly.

"Oh come on," Hank's brows narrowed a bit, but he couldn't hide that small smirk that was tugging on the corners of his lips. "To my defense, you were annoying as hell. Still are."

Connor couldn't stifle a small chuckle at Hank's teasing. His mechanical heart felt so warm as he sat here across from the man he'd grown to deeply care for. Seeing Hank happy like this made him feel happy, as if the emotion was contagious. He wanted to make Hank happier.

"Here you are, sir." The waitress was back, placing a large glass of beer in front of Hank and pulling a small tablet from her apron. "What can I get you to eat tonight?"

"I'll just get the steak and fries, medium well." 

The waitress tapped at the tablet for a moment and nodded, that rehearsed smile forming across her red lips again. "Alright, sounds great. I'll take that from you," She picked up the menu. "I'll be back with your food."

The two watched as she headed back off to the kitchen. Hank took a long sip of his cold beer. Connor watched him drink. He watched the way his throat bobbed slightly as he swallowed, analyzing every small, subtle movement. He did that quite frequently with Hank lately; taking in every small little quirk that the lieutenant had. The man was truly fascinating to Connor, for reasons he was honestly unsure of.

"Wanna try it?" Hank's voice knocked Connor from his thoughts, as he slowly slid the glass of beer across the table, eyeing Connor expectantly. 

"I probably shouldn't." 

"You can literally eat human blood, I'm sure you can handle a sip of beer." Hank insisted.

"Well, when it comes to sampling evidence I don't exactly 'eat' it, per say. But I suppose you're right... A sip couldn't hurt." Connor's brown eyes flitted down to look at the glass that Hank had offered him. He's never drank anything before, as he didn't exactly have the need to. He was capable of ingesting food and drink, but he never needed to.

He took the glass and raised it to his lips. The smell was strong, and quite unique. Hank watched him as he tilted the glass back a bit, letting the foamy liquid touch his tongue. He took only a small amount into his mouth, before lowering the glass back down onto the table.

"Okay, swallow." Hank said slowly, ocean blue eyes fixated on the RK800. The androids expression shriveled into one of slight disgust suddenly, and he slowly swallowed the mouthful of beer, his body shuddering after he got it down. His LED whirred yellow for a moment as he tried to process the rather bitter flavor of the drink.

Hank laughed. Not a quiet, dull chuckle, but a genuine laugh. It didn't last too long, but Connor liked that laugh. A lot.

"You don't like it, do you?" He asked, moving the glass back over to his side of the table. 

"It's... very bitter. Do you like drinking that?" Connor genuinely asked, wondering how a human could enjoy such a strange tasting drink. Maybe his taste receptors were different than a humans. Maybe it tasted better for humans than it did for him.

"It's kind of an acquired taste. When I had my first beer I thought it tasted like piss. Now, I actually like it." Hank took another sip of his drink. "Speaking of piss, when you drink stuff like that where does it all go?"

"It goes into a storage tank inside my body, until it eventually gets flushed out." Connor said in an informative tone. Hank eyed Connor from behind the glass of his beer.

"Flushed out? Flushed outta where?"

"My penis."

Hank nearly choked. He sputtered on his beer and set it down on the table quickly, glancing around to see if anyone had heard the android. Thankfully, no one was looking their way.

"For fucks sake, Connor. Don't just say shit like that so nonchalantly!" Hank's cheeks were dusted slightly red, probably from embarrassment. "You have... Why the hell do you have...?"

"I'm not sure if I should answer that question here, due to your reaction when I first mentioned it." Connor felt a bit embarrassed now himself after Hank's reaction to the subject. He didn't quite realize that he shouldn't be talking about that specific bio component in public. Of course his social relations program was still in effect even after deviancy, but he wasn't always the best at knowing what he should and shouldn't say.

"Well, like... you piss out whatever goes into you? Is that what it's there for?" Hank kept his voice down, but he was genuinely curious now. Why the hell did he have a dick? He sort of just... assumed Connor would be all smooth down there. Like a Ken doll. "Is it for realism?"

"Well, I'm an advanced prototype. I was created for detective work, which includes undercover missions and doing whatever I can to obtain evidence and confessions." Connor began, his hands moving down under the table to rest on his lap. "So, I was designed with the ability to-"

"Alright, I get it. You don't need to continue." Hank was downing his beer now. He didn't even want to think about Connor being used in that way. It made him feel a bit sick to his stomach. Cyberlife really thought of everything, giving the damn detective androids functioning genitalia. He hoped to God that Connor never needed to use it. Thankfully the android hadn't done any detective work without Hank around, so he probably never did.

"And yes, to answer your other question, I do technically urinate. My body breaks down whatever I eat or drink, and gets expelled as a liquid from my body."

"Alright, alright. Anyways..." Hank waved his hand dismissively, attempting to change the subject. His curiosity about the subject was most definitely satiated enough. 

Hanks food came, and he dug in right away. He was starving from such a long day at work, and taking Connor out for clothes overlapped with the time he usually ate. His eating schedule was honestly quite awful. He'd eat breakfast only sometimes, maybe grab a few donuts for lunch, then starve himself for the rest of the day until he ate a bunch when he got home. Although having Connor with him now, he knew his eating would be monitored more than he'd like. 

Connor watched him eat, but Hank didn't really care. He felt comforted by Connor's presence when it came down to it. He could confidently say that Connor made him feel less alone, and he liked that. Hank had grown so accustomed to solitude by now. Connor showing up and breaking that loneliness was honestly life saving for him.

"I needed that. Haven't eaten a thing since noon." He sighed, putting down his knife and fork as he finished his food. Although, before Connor had time to scold him for his poor eating habits, Hanks phone rang. He fished it from his pocket and answered it.

Connor watched him as he spoke on the phone, Hanks expression falling into one of slight disappointment. Connor tilted his head slightly to the side, watching curiously as Hank let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah, I'll be there." The lieutenant finally rasped, hanging up and slipping his phone back into his jacket pocket. 

"What is it, Hank?" Connor questioned.

"Homicide. Gotta get down to the crime scene. I'll see if I can drop you off home first."

"That's not necessary." Connor piped up. "I want to come with you."

"No way, Connor. You're not a detective anymore, I could lose my job bringing you onto the crime scene." Hank was getting up now, flagging the waitress down. "Could I get the bill please? Thank you."

"But Hank, I could assist you. I'm incredibly skilled at processing crime scenes-"

"Connor, no. You're staying in the car." 

Connor held his tongue, sinking into his seat slightly. His LED circled yellow for a moment, then back to blue with a long exhale. "Yes, Lieutenant."

"You can just call me Hank, you know. You don't work under me anymore, Connor."

"I'd like to, though." 

Hank just looked down at Connor, a look on his face that Connor deducted to be one of sympathy. He clearly wanted to be a part of the force again, but Hank knew it probably wouldn't happen even if he asked Fowler personally. The revolution ended peacefully, with most of the public reacting with sympathy towards the androids. Even though that was the case, it didn't mean companies or police stations were willing to hire them and pay them for their work now that they had their own free will.

  
Hank pulled his car up next to an apartment complex, parking in the lot next to some squad cars. With a sigh, he twisted the key and pulled it from the ignition, glancing over at the android in his passenger seat. 

"Stay here, alright? I won't be long." He then opened up his door, halfway out before Connor spoke up. Of course he spoke up. Nothing was ever easy when it came to Connor, he was certainly as stubborn as always.

"Lieutenant, please. Let me accompany you." 

"Connor, no. You're not permitted past the police tape." Hank wasn't feeling up for arguing anymore today, he was exhausted. It was beginning to get late, and all he wanted to do was go home and sleep now that his stomach was full. The last thing he wanted to do was be here, looking at damn dead bodies and using his brain. 

"Hank." Connor practically pleaded at this point, but Hank didn't care. He got out and closed the door with a huff and made his way up to the front doors of the apartment complex. There was holographic police tape surrounding the entrance, and Hank walked through into the lobby. Chris turned to look at Hank with a nod of acknowledgement. 

"Hey, Lieutenant Anderson." His coworker greeted in his normal friendly tone.

"Chris." Hank nodded, pushing his hands into his pockets. "What do we got tonight?"

"Well," Chris started up, glancing down at his notes as he began to lead the Lieutenant into the hallway of the complex, and into the victim's apartment. "An unidentified woman, looks to be in her thirties or so... she's been strangled, we think at least. There's marks along her neck and popped blood vessels in her eyes."

Hank saw the body right away, the moment they walked into the room. A woman in a nightgown was laid out across the living room floor. Thankfully, there wasn't a whole lot of blood. 

"I knew I started smelling booze." Detective Reed smirked, a smug tone to his voice as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Of course Gavin was here, why wouldn't he be? This night couldn't get any more inconvenient, could it?

"Shut up, Reed." Hank didn't even bother to look at Gavin, who chuckled at Hanks remark. 

"We can't figure out what the hell happened here, other than there being signs of an obvious struggle. She was strangled, that's all we got. There's barely any blood either. Honestly, we should just send in the forensics and go home." Gavin hummed, pressing the back of his head against the wall he was leaning on.

"Sounds good to me." Hank added, glancing around at the scene once more. As annoying as Gavin could be, he was a decent detective. If he didn't see anything noteworthy, why stay?

"Holy shit." Gavin spoke up again, perking up and standing back up straight, green eyes locked on something behind Hank. "You brought your plastic pet!"

Hank audibly groaned, whipping around to see that damn, stubborn android standing in the apartment doorway. He was looking at Hank, with those pretty brown eyes.

"Connor, for fucks sake. Why don't you ever listen to me? Seriously." Hank growled, running a hand through his grey hair. 

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I understand that you want to get home and rest, so I thought I'd assist you with the case." Connor moved in past Hank, approaching the woman's corpse and squatting down next to it. He analyzed her face, ignoring Hank's heavy, frustrated sigh.

  
**[Jennifer Andrews - Age: 35 - Occupation: accountant]**

  
He then pressed two slender fingers under her nose, collecting some of her blood onto the tips of them. He raised them to his mouth and pressed them against his tongue, garnering some pretty negative and expected reactions from the humans around him.

"Connor! Cut that shit out and go wait in the car." Hank hissed, clearly unimpressed with the sight of Connor putting more evidence in his mouth, and just being here in general. It was so damn off-putting to see such a human looking android just... dipping his fingers into a corpses blood and licking them.

"What the actual fuck?" Gavin burst out into some uncomfortable sounding laughter. "Well that's just plain fucking gross. I'm getting the hell out of here before he decides to put more shit in his mouth." The detective then made his way out of the apartment, leaving a frustrated Hank to storm over and pull Connor back up to his feet by the back of his jacket.

"Seriously? I told you to wait in the car. Why don't you ever listen to me?" He scolded the android. Connor just blinked, an innocent expression on his face. 

"I want to help." Connor said quietly. 

Hank ran a hand through his silver hair, eyeing a smudge of human blood on Connor's lower lip. He shuddered and looked away. His patience was running pretty thin right now, but at the same time he could tell how much Connor wanted this damn job back. He wanted to work alongside the Lieutenant again, it was obvious. 

"It's what I was made for, Hank." There was a certain twinge of desperateness in Connor's quiet tone. "Please, let me help."

"Connor, look-" Hank started abruptly, turning his gaze back to the RK800. "It's not me. If I were in charge, I'd let you. But you don't work here anymore, so you shouldn't be on the crime scene, let alone touching the damn body and... and licking the evidence!" 

Connor just stood silently. He understood the law, and he knew he wasn't supposed to be here, but what if he could prove his worth? He knew the DPD could benefit from his help. The way him and Hank flew threw crime scenes back then was so quick and efficient, it would be stupid not to hire Connor again. 

"The victim's name was Jennifer Andrews. She was 35 and worked as an accountant. She was also married, judging by the wedding band on her left hand." Connor spoke firmly, ignoring what Hank had previously said. The Lieutenant sighed heavily, but nodded slowly. 

"Alright. Thanks, Connor. Now go wait in the car before I lose my damn job, alright?" The man's tone was gentle, as he met those chocolate brown eyes. "Please."

Connor nodded once, turning without another word and heading out of the apartment. Chris, who had been standing in the doorway, watched Connor go.

"Wow." Chris spoke up, breaking the small window of silence that fell over the room. "Well, we know her identity now. Connor's pretty useful, you know."

"Yeah, I do know. Poor kid wants back on the force." Hank gave the room one more glance, before turning around and heading out. Chris followed him.

"Maybe Fowler will let him back on?" Chris spoke up as the two headed back into the apartment lobby. "I mean why not? He'd be a massive help and he's deviant now, so it's not like he'd be getting used like before." 

"I know. I'll talk to Fowler but I honestly don't know. He's not exactly fond of androids himself. And the laws, I don't know if androids are even allowed to work for themselves yet..." Hank sighed.

Getting Connor back onto the force wouldn't be easy. There were so many new laws being put into place regarding androids after the revolution, but the wound was still so fresh. People didn't trust their androids anymore. Some were welcoming androids into society with open arms, while others were not happy about it. Some humans didn't want to share their jobs and lives with the androids. While Markus and the rest of Jericho were still actively working for androids to have the ability to work, it was still up in the air. 

And until there was a definitive on that, Connor probably wasn't welcome back to the DPD. At least not yet. 

The ride back to Hanks home was quiet. It was obvious that Connor was feeling upset, but Hank wasn't the best with dealing with other people's emotions. He wanted to speak up, maybe tell Connor he was still valued even if he wasn't a detective. Tell him that he'd do his best to see if he could be hired again. But he held his tongue, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove. The silence was starting to get to him, so he turned on his loud metal music.

As they arrived back home, Connor gathered the bags of clothing Hank had bought him earlier tonight and exited the car. He waited there on the front step for Hank, as he didn't have the key to the house. Hank stepped out of the car and made his way up to his front door. 

Sumo's excited and muffled barking could be heard from inside as he stuck the key inside the lock and twisted, opening up the door. The Saint Bernard ran out excitedly into the snow, and Hank stood outside for a few moments while Connor went in, allowing his dog to do his business.

Connor made his way over to the couch after removing his shoes, setting down the bags of clothes onto the coffee table and sitting down with a small sigh. He enjoyed tonight very much, but that last part left him feeling quite down. Connor couldn't shake the feeling of being useless now that he couldn't do what he was literally designed for. He was nothing but a burden on Hank now that just sat in his home and spent his hard earned money. 

Connor glanced over to the front door as Sumo bounded back inside. Hank stepped in after his dog, closing and locking the door behind him. 

"Well, I'm exhausted. I'm gonna head to bed." He announced, slipping off his shoes. "You need anything before I hit the sack?"

"No, Hank. I'm fine." Connor forced a small but believable smile. 

"Shit." Hank glanced over at the bags of clothing on the coffee table. Connor looked at them too for a moment, then back to Hank.

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot to get you some clothes to sleep in." Hank stated, before making his way down the hall.

"Oh." Connor glanced back to the bags, before peering into one of them. "I could just sleep in one of these new outfits."

"No, you'll get them all wrinkly." Hank's voice was coming from his bedroom now. Connor could hear him shuffling through his closet, opening some drawers and closing them again. Eventually Hank returned with some clothes. He tossed them to Connor, and they landed in his lap.

"Oh, Hank... I don't need-"

"It's fine, they uh. They got too small for me anyways. They're yours until we can get you some pj's." Hank insisted, his tone warm but obviously worn out from the long day he had.

"Thank you." Connor looked up at him, sincerity in his voice and warmness in his eyes. 

"No problem." Hank returned a small, closed lip smile before heading back down the hall and into the bathroom.

Connor held up one of the items of clothing in front of himself. It was a large black hoodie that read Detroit Police Department across the chest, quite like Hank's grey one. It looked quite comfortable. He then held up the bottoms, which were some loose fitting grey sweatpants. They looked a little large, but he could most likely tie the waistband tightly to keep them up.

Once Hank was done in the bathroom and off to bed, Connor made his way into the bathroom to change into the clothing Hank had given him. He slipped off his jacket, then undid his tie and the buttons on his pristine shirt. He unlooped his belt and slipped out of his jeans, leaving his form fitting black boxer briefs on. 

He slipped the large hoodie over his head, and it fell down the rest of his body. The big sweater went down to his upper thighs, but Connor liked how it felt even if it was a bit too big for him. He stepped into the sweatpants and pulled them up, tying the waistband tightly around his slender hips.

Unfortunately, the sweatpants kept sagging down, slipping past his hips. These just wouldn't fit, so he took them off. The hoodie was big though, and it covered most of his underwear so it should be fine if he only wore the sweater with his underwear, right?

He made his way out of the bathroom and back out into the living room, folding up the borrowed sweatpants and the rest of his clothing to place on the coffee table. As he got himself comfortable and situated on the couch, huddling under the blanket, he realized he's never felt this comfortable and warm in his life. Hank's hoodie was so soft and warm... and it smelt like him. Like his cologne and the specific brand of detergent that lingered on all of his clothing. Connor smiled softly to himself, letting his eyes slip closed as he relished in his feeling.

It didn't take long for Connor to slip into stasis, but only after he heard Hank's soft snoring coming from the other room over. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate comments so so much, feel free to tell me what you think so far! ^^


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